Fast & Furious actress Gal Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman. Charlie Andrews talks about the casting, and the next addition in the Man of Steel sequel
Gal Gadot is your new Wonder Woman
“Wonder Woman is arguably one of the most powerful female characters of all time and a fan favorite in the DC Universe,” director Zack Snyder said of the casting. “Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role. We look forward to audiences discovering Gal in the first feature film incarnation of this beloved character”.
For those who don’t know, Wonder Woman is a warrior princess of the Amazons and is known in her homeland as Princess Diana of Themyscira. When outside her homeland she is known as Diana Prince. She is gifted with a wide range of superhuman powers and superior combat and battle skills. She possesses an arsenal of weapons, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara that serves as a projectile, and in some stories, an invisible airplane.
It has already been announced that Ben Affleck will be donning the cape and cowl and appearing as Batman in the Man of Steel sequel, an announcement which has received an extremely mixed reception, but the audience are no strangers to Batman. By the time this sequel is released it will have only been three years since the end of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, which provided the mass audience with a vastly detailed background of the character. Again with Superman he had five live-action films before Man of Steel that provided the audience with a detailed background on the character (although Man of Steel also acted as an origin story). Wonder Woman has no such prior releases and, despite the fact she is one of the most prominent DC characters, most of the audience will be unaware of the character and her background. In this sense, Zack Snyder is assuming every audience member holds prior knowledge of the Wonder Woman character and is throwing her into the Man of Steel sequel in a bit-part role as opposed to introducing her in a solo origin film. It is already going to be a challenge for the audience to adjust to a new actor playing the caped crusader let alone a whole new character.
Gal Gadot as Gisele in Fast Five
Gal Gadot does not have an extensive film background; she starred as Gisele in the past three films of the Fast & Furious franchise but apart from that she has only held bit-part roles in Knight and Day and a single episode of Entourage. So this casting is surprising as they have opted for a smaller actress, Henry Cavill himself was a less well-known actor but Ben Affleck is considered an A-lister, when it might have made sense to use a renowned actress to introduce a new character. Diana Prince is a strong, physical, Amazon Princess whilst Gal Gadot appears slender and extremely fragile, although she is tall. Gal Gadot does have a history in the Israeli army, although every Israeli citizen is expected to serve in the army for at least two years, so she does have a physical background and she has the opportunity to “beef out” (as most actors are required to do when playing Superheroes). Saying this, it would not be all too surprising to find Wonder Woman being recast later down the production line in order to find an actor who holds a bigger presence, both visually and physically, and is “grittier”; Wonder Woman does physically kick ass so you need an actress who the audience believe is actually capable of that.
Let us not forget the film we are talking about is Man of Steel 2, the sequel to Man of Steel and a Superman film. All the discussion of Batfleck and now Wonder Woman is losing sight of the fact that this is in fact a Superman film. In my opinion this film is becoming far, far too crowded. Some believe the plan is to have not just Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in the film but several members of the Justice League as well. It’s unclear which members, Nightwing and the Flash are said to be making an appearance in some fashion, whether that’s a significant role or a cameo. It is unclear whether or not this incarnation of the Flash would be the same as the CW’s, who are currently developing a series with Grant Gustin playing the iconic speedster, and, as for Nightwing, most people know who Robin is but they probably are unaware that he grew up to become Nightwing.
It appears as if the people over at DC are unsure of what they are doing and it would not be surprising at all if it turned out they had no idea for an overall plan. They still haven’t settled on a name for this film but, for all intensive purposes, they may as well just call it Justice League. It is almost as if the executives sat down and decided “Superman has had his movie, now let’s throw a bunch of new characters in”. Marvel’s plans, on the other hand, always seem clear; there are currently three phases slated which all lead into an Avengers title. Phase One began with Iron Man and followed through The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America before Avengers Assemble was finally released. With Man of Steel and DC it almost seems as if they have gone Iron Man then straight to Avengers. Perhaps DC just wants a piece of 2015, which is shaping up to be an incredibly profitable year in the film industry.
What do you think to Gal Gadot’s casting as Wonder Woman? Do you think it is a marvelous choice or a colossal mistake? How about your views on Man of Steel 2? Let us know in the comments section below.
